


Haunting dreams/Dream of me

by JKirin



Series: Halloween in 100 Words [1]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drabble, Eventual Happy Ending, Fix-It of Sorts, Halloween, Happy Halloween, M/M, Neji doesn't quite make it to the Pure Land, Some talks about life/death/grief/existence, Spooky, True Love, Wordcount: 100, first chapter is a drabble, second isn't, this is a work of one wild imagination that just doesn't give a damn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:22:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27141721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKirin/pseuds/JKirin
Summary: Let's just say that Lee is not the only one who dreams of Neji.Content Warning: second chapter is Neji's POVafterhis death, so be warned.
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Inuzuka Kiba
Series: Halloween in 100 Words [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982128
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Haunting Dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [I thought I'd be able to tell you after the war](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/708169) by pagkahari. 



Haunting dreams. Unlike Lee's, his were long—they were torture.

Neji was with, under, _around_ him again. Fingernails deep into Kiba's back and dragging down inflicting sweet pain, filling the air with the smell of his blood. Dreams ended with a cry of pleasure—call of a bird high in the sky.

Skin damp with sweat, Kiba wakes up and makes coffee to wash away the taste of Neji's skin. On his porch, he looks up at a hawk soaring freely. He doesn't see long scratch marks on his back, but he hears a hoarse screaming call piercing the air.


	2. Dream of me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neji doesn't quite make it to the Pure Land
> 
> (It's still Halloween in Hawaii, so I'm not that late!!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter left me a bit sad—well, it was supposed to. However, I couldn't just leave it there... My boys deserve the world and I'm here to help them out in any way I can!
> 
> Also, it's Halloween, stranger things happened in canon. This one just might as well, as far as I'm concerned. 
> 
> This one is for you, lyarvon, my fellow KibaNeji shipper!

This was not afterlife. While no one ever told him what it would or should look like, regardless of how many times he asked, Neji was quite certain that this wasn't it. 

After his father died, he studied old scrolls, talked to priests and teachers, trying to find something not to prove that afterlife existed—of this he had no doubts, because his father couldn't just disappear completely—but to understand what it looked like. Pure Land, scrolls called it – the place where the souls of earthly beings go after death to join their lost ones. This place had no one but him, so, no, it wasn't afterlife.

But it was _something_ —

—because it wasn't life, either. 

It wasn't even death.

Neji remembered what death was – the taste of copper spilling from his mouth, pain (oh, so much pain), the tears (his own mixed in with others'), last words, and then relief—followed by the very last heartbeat that rang so loudly in his ears, both lungs releasing all the air slowly, and, finally, electric sparks of chakra dissipating. Then, empty silence; darkness. 

That was death. 

And this was after.

After-death, then.

There was still consciousness and memories (but not in any shape or form) – they were just _there_ (here)—part of him, or, maybe, _he_ was part of them. Just being; floating; drifting. In nowhere.

This wasn't all it was, though.

There were dreams. They weren't his, Neji was absolutely sure. Inside them, he had a form and shape, and all the things he used to know, to be—before.

The first time was like a flash – without warning and short-lived. From the restless floating state in empty darkness, Neji's consciousness was yanked and planted suddenly right back into his body—or, rather, its image inside some other's head. Shikamaru's, perhaps, as they were playing shogi. This was no memory because, while promising to play the game together many times, they never really got to it. The missions, training, then the war – all took priority, of course.

"We're here, at last," Nara's voice carried lower than Neji recalled, he looked a little less laid back but not much older. Perhaps some time has passed, but not too much, since the war ended. Somehow, there was this knowledge in this dream—that the war ended—it brought relief. Not peace, but some relief.

"Your beard's ridiculous" was all that he could say and that, somehow, drew out a loud laugh from the other man. 

"Temari seems to like it, so I'll keep it." Shukamaru smiled in response, with just a hint of blush tainting his cheeks, and moved a piece of shogi "I want to marry her, you see"

And just like that, Neji was pulled right back into the darkness. Alone he drifted, wondering whatever happened between Nara and the kunoichi of the great Three Sand Siblings, and if they ever got together in the end.

Hinata dreamt of him as well. The first time they simply drank green tea in silence. His cousin had a tender smile on her face and he was happy beyond words that she survived the horrid war. Another time she was a little older, carried a child, and looked so beautiful through it. Hinata wondered just how to call the baby and asked for his advice. Neji assured her that no matter what the name, he would grow up to be the strongest one in Konoha. He simply knew that it would be a son. Later, Neji learned that she called her firstborn after him.

Lee's dreams were quite funny – he always asked him for advice, even more so than when he was alive. In one of them, his friend was running frantically around the whole village looking for a perfect gift. 

"For whom?" asked he and heard a very typical to Lee excited scream for a response. So it was Naruto that Hinata has married, he smiled at the news and tried to share ideas but their meeting, unfortunately, was cut short.

TenTen has always bragged about new weapons she acquired, then complaining just how slow the business was, still smiling happily – times nowadays were quiet. 

The dreams were, to say the least, sporadic. Neji's consciousness jumped from one dreamer's future to the other's past, then back – it was a very different and interesting experience. His timeline, it appeared, continued on its own and wasn't synced with those who lived. It made no sense. And yet, it did. 

One dreamt of Neji far more often than the others. 

When he was first pulled into Kiba's dream, Neji had only a brief moment to recognize the man before being surprised by two warm palms cupping his cheeks and a hungry mouth covering his in desperation. Too shocked to react differently, he gasped and immediately felt vibrations of an appreciative growl followed by a strong hot muscle sliding inside in haste to consume and possess. It was primal, burning, and _alive_. Neji pushed at the dog-nin—the intensity of the kiss overwhelming his whole consciousness—and slipped out of the dream.

It was so sudden and Neji honestly didn't know just what to think of it. He floated in a daze, burning sensation still so fresh, and tried to recall memories of him with Kiba, which weren't many. There were few times in the Academy but Neji was a year ahead, so chances for a meeting were very limited. Truthfully, he didn't want to think about his school years at all—not proud of the person he was then. After making chuunin and then jounin, they had a few missions together. More often than not, they would meet only when Hinata's team came over to the Hyuuga compound for training or simply to visit. Their conversations were few and far between. What reasons could Kiba have for kissing him like that? 

The answer came to him in the next dream. This time, his cousin's teammate looked as young as he remembered from the days of the Fourth Shinobi War. Even the uniform was still the same. Perhaps, in Kiba's time, Neji died only recently. When the man began approaching him, he took a step back on instinct but, stunned by deep sadness in the dark eyes, allowed big hands to wrap around him and messy head rest on his shoulder. With every heartbeat, the hold tightened until becoming almost unbearable, but Neji didn't pull back, knowing and dreading what was coming next. As Kiba's body started shaking with uncontrollable sobs filling the space around them, he simply stood there.

That was grief.

Neji knew grief.

Even though he didn't understand yet why Kiba would grieve him so deeply, Neji comforted the man with a gentle return of the embrace, allowing hands to wander the broad back in soothing movements. Between sobs, Kiba's words were broken and incoherent, but Neji caught the pieces, still.

"—thought, we'll have time

wanted to—

—after the war

—loved you"

"I'm sorry" was all he could say before fading away, back into the familiar void.

Their world was cruel - children robbed of childhood; adults denied the right to live and love. For what?

_Sacrificing few for the betterment of the many._

Before death, Neji thought he understood the words, choosing to sacrifice himself to protect loved ones in that war – it was his honour; Will of Fire; peace.

Now, in the after-death, his consciousness was far from peace – it grew more restless. How many sacrifices should there be? Should they be really measured in human lives? Was there any other way? Yes, there was some peace in Nara's dream, but was it permanent? Was there ever such a thing as permanent peace? 

The questions, still, were left unanswered, as Neji drifted, floated in nowhere. Some comfort came through other people's dreams – there were some changes in his world. Perhaps, there was some hope for people who still lived there.

In time, he came to like being called to Kiba. Quite often, they would simply sit in silence and watch the clouds, seeing hawks soar in the sky. In dreams like this, Kiba would hold his hand and smile. One time he would look older, with a handsome beard and longer hair. Another, he would be back to his younger self again. With him, Neji would notice changes in himself as well – next to an older Kiba, he looked more like his own father. Was that what he would've looked like, if—

In some dreams, they would talk a lot. Though both belonged to Konoha's honourable clans, Neji didn't know that much about Kiba. Bit by bit, he was learning more facets of his personality, desiring to know simple things like favourite foods, and past times, or how things were with Akamaru and other members of the Inuzuka clan. The dreams were getting longer, every time. Through them, Neji could pretend to be alive again. He felt things – cool rain on flushed cheeks; silky grass between his fingers; dog-nin's warmth when he would place his hand on his; the air was welcomed in his chest again; the heartbeat – loud. With sadness, Kiba would let him go each time.

Neji was getting greedier, his consciousness – more restless. He longed to stay in Kiba's dreams but the after-death would never give him what he wanted, and Neji drifted further, waiting for their next time. 

When in one visit, he was welcomed with Kiba's lips on his again, Neji gave in, fully aware of his own desire to be closer to the man. Somehow, he felt at peace, right there; it felt so right. Why now? Why was it in the after-death that he found love and not before when they had the time?

* * *

It has been getting harder to perceive how much time he spent in the after-death since falling on the battlefield. There seemed to be no point to the whole experience anymore, but things were changing slightly. He managed several full games with Nara and even training sessions with his uncle, which was a sign of dreams becoming longer. Because of it, he learned a lot more of the world after him, piecing together and giving order to different fragments of information received from various people and times. 

He was pleased to see a picture of the female sand sibling with a living bundle next to Shikamaru at one of their games. Shikadai – he learnt the name from one of Ino's dreams, who bragged about the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. Then, Lee confessed to having a son – a little spitting image of himself, whom he was very proud of. Neji was happy for his friends but dreaded to hear similar news about Kiba, which was why they were barely talking now. 

He didn't know how long each dream would last, so every time Neji would start a kiss and revel in the immediate response that followed. Kiba would growl and pin him to whatever surface was the closest, nibble and bite searching the entrance, then invade his mouth, consuming all of him. 

"Dream of me" He would whisper, loving rough hands tangling his hair, hot lips leaving red marks on every part of him. The feeling between them grew stronger every time, unfolding itself and surrounding them in a warm embrace; it pulsed right through, then twisted, turned, tying them together. Through moments of such passion, Neji felt alive—no, more than that. In life, he never felt so whole, so happy.

Kiba would try to tell him something, but Neji would steal any words away with burning kisses to his throat, or leaving marks on broad tan back—his consciousness refused to hear past _'to move on'_ or _'Shino's worried',_ it pushed these words aside, not willing to give up their time together. When Kiba managed to confess about a girlfriend and trying to let go of their lost love, Neji screamed out in rage—

_"Unfair!"_

At his next game with Nara, Neji finally admitted to himself

"I want to come back"

"To where?"

"Life"

He lost that game, not being able to distinguish pieces as tears welled from deep inside and coursed down his flushed cheeks.

With Naruto, one more confession slipped:

"Even in death, I am not free" they sat on the Hokage monument, looking at hawks soaring high in the air. "Once again, I exist in a flow that I can't possibly oppose" Drifting, floating, jumping from one dream to another, and drifting further. 

Naruto smiled at him, hokage hat looked very well on him "Perhaps, you, once again, gave up control before you even tried to claim it?"

Did he? Did Neji make the same mistake again?

When left alone inside the darkness, he tried to rationalize. When still alive, his consciousness and memories were trapped inside his body. On bad days they would be scattered, jumping from one thought and memory to many others, then come back. He meditated then, to keep his thought process focused, slowly moving away from all distractions. Neji recalled how he was sitting in the Hyuuga garden, trying to let go of the worries and relax. He tried to do it now.

There were no sounds, no breath, no body, no interruptions. To ground himself he needed one point of focus, and, of course, only Kiba's name came to mind. Before he knew it, his consciousness traveled straight to the dog-nin's dream. Next time, he tried to focus on the other's, and, true to Naruto's words, with practice, Neji grasped control. He could now choose whose mind to venture into. 

As an experiment, he tried to jump somewhere, where he has never been. To his surprise, it worked. If the Fourth Suna Kazekage was surprised by Neji's visit, he didn't show it. Instead, they simply walked among tall blooming cacti under bright desert stars.

Another time he traveled to a dream of someone who had no chance to know him in real life. The youngest Uzumaki was barely three—the spitting image of her mother at that age. She asked him who he was, then smiled broadly at his quiet _'your uncle'_ and took him on a walk through the field full of dandelions, around them tiny parachutes would fly up high and then descent in calmness. 

He practiced further, trying to get dreams lasting longer, to resist the darkness, when he needed it, or jump right back. With much more effort, Neji could even pick the time, approximately, of the dreamer's life. He liked to visit Himawari this way, see her grow in proper sequence, instead of jumping back and forth. He was surprised, when she confessed—while at the same time eating cotton candy and watching rabbits chasing foxes in the sun—that everyone was sad about her not having byakugan. Neji, then, talked her through the steps of activation. Though usually, it is presenting right at birth, he heard about some members of the branch family developing one in their early childhood. She was delighted to learn that just like him and, obviously, her mother, the bloodline limit was within her after all. 

As she was getting older, Neji trained with her. She showed raw strength that rivaled his when he was growing up. At the same time, it was clear as day that she inherited two of the strongest qualities her parents possessed – courage and kindness. He didn't look too much into her future, but for sure, if Himawari put her mind to it, she would become their clan's most fearsome leader.  
  
For some time, Neji avoided going back to Kiba. He feared to learn if the man ever found himself a family, moved on. Whenever someone would mention him in their dream, he would immediately run away. Only in the moments of his deepest weakness, Neji would jump to some of the dog-nin's early days after his death and sit beside him in heavy silence.

This, however, couldn't last forever. Neji realized at some point, that, perhaps, he wasn't dead. How could one die without ever having lived? As absurd as it sounded (in the void, where there was no sound), he was still conscious. Yes, the body of Hyuuga Neji was buried now, but he was floating here. In nowhere, but _here_. There was no peace, as Pure Land promised, he wasn't waiting for a loved one in Purgatory either, but he still _was._ His consciousness existed.

Neji decided—he was coming back.

In Kiba's timeline, their last dream was the one where they both fought. So, Neji targeted the dream right after that. They stood near his grave in silence at first, letting snow flurries hover down around them. Hinata's team-mate was in his early thirties than with hair long and wild. Neji knew that inside that tough exterior, there was a tender heart—he came to know it very well through all their times together. He wouldn't give it up. He couldn't.

"Wait for me" _please._

* * *

Kiba woke up to a loud knock on his door followed by Akamaru unceremoniously kicking him off the bed. He stumbled around the furniture, still trying to pry his eyes open. The knock repeated and he shouted, "Just wait a second! 'm coming, jeez!"

Still sleepy, he opened the door and let the rude guest in.

"Haven't we waited long enough?" heard he the voice that haunted him over a decade, then looked more closely at the man. He looked like—no that thought was dangerous

"Who are you?" has he finally gone mad? This couldn't possibly be who he thought it was. Was it just one of the wild dreams of his?

"I'm back"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't get to writing out just 'how' exactly Neji came back to life, but, just to wrap it up a little, here is my headcanon:
> 
> A bit before the Boruto events, Neji haunted down Amado through his dreams and made him create a clone of himself in exchange for information on where to find Jiraya's DNA for the scientist's wicked plans. Once Amado defected from Jigen, Neji transported his consciousness in the clone and found a way back to the village, to Kiba. So, there! Pretty canon-compliant!


End file.
